Results tagged ‘ Alfredo Simon ’

*Felix Pie will go on a rehab assignment on Tuesday, although the Orioles aren’t sure which affiliate he will be with just yet. *Michael Gonzalez will likely join him on rehab next week. Gonzalez is throwing a simulated game today and assuming all goes well that will be the next step.*Alfredo Simon will slot back into ninth-inning duties, as expected. Interim manager Juan Samuel said previously that he wanted to get Simon a few non-pressurized situations before putting him back in the ninth inning. This has nothing to do with Hernandez blowing the save last night. But if Simon isn’t available for a night, Samuel said Hernandez would be the guy.

*In case you missed it, Jake Arrieta will make his Major League debut against the Yanks tomorrow night. The Os will have to add him to their 40-man (and take someone off) so look for a roster move tonight or early Thursday.

*Corey Patterson (who was day to day with a slight groin issue) is available if needed tonight.

*Alfredo Simon (left hamstring strain) is progressing well in Sarasota and interim manager Juan Samuel was hopeful he would be ready for the team’s West Coast trip which starts Monday in San Francisco.

*Felix Pie started a throwing program and has been hitting off the tee down in Sarasota with no reported pain.

*The Orioles insist there is no exact plan for right-hander Brad Bergesen, who had his last start skipped and was moved to the bullpen -in hopes of straightening out his arm slot — for an unspecified amount of time. Bergesen will remain in the ‘pen for now, but that could change in the next few days. Stay tuned.

The Orioles did all the little things right in Tuesday’s win and got two solid innings of middle relief from big lefty Mark Hendrickson. In the wake of injuries to reliever Koji Uehara and closer Alfredo Simon, manager Dave Trembley told Hendrickson -typically the team’s long man – that he will be now be used in the later innings as well.

“He came to [pitching coach Rick] Kranitz before the game today and said, ‘With [Simon] being out, does my role change?’ And we told him, ‘Yeah, you’ll probably be used later in the game.'” Trembley said. “And he said, ‘OK, I’m ready for it.’ He did a real nice job. The ball was down, he had good two-seam and he had good extension on his pitches.”“That’s the best Hendrickson has pitched all year.”

The guy nicknamed Big Smooth by his teammates seemed to cruise through his two scoreless innings, throwing 21 pitches (14 for strikes) and allowing just one hit. “I’m not going to lie. I loved the situation. I loved the opportunity to come in with the lead late in the game,” Hendrickson said. “I think I just tried to pitch accordingly.”

“If you look at the way I came in and the way Will [Ohman] came in, it seemed like we were just coming in being aggressive, trusting our stuff and accomplishing some zeroes after we had taken the lead. That’s important and that’s something we really haven’t done a good job of. I think tonight we excelled in pretty much every facet, which is nice to see.”

Given that Orioles bullpen now consists of Frank Mata, who is in the big leagues for the first time, and David Hernandez (who has never been a reliever) having a seasoned guy like Hendrickson is a big boost. I know in talking to Jason Berken earlier this season that Hendrickson has been extremely helpful in his successful transition to the ‘pen.

Hopefully, Hendrickson can continue to help the young guys and build on outings like Tuesday.

De facto closer Alfredo Simon was charged with his first blown save of the season in Saturday’s 8-2 loss, spurring a ton of booing from the Camden Yards crowd and calling into question whether manager Dave Trembley should have yanked Simon earlier.

Simon came on for the ninth and allowed his first runs of the season, surrendering a three-run homer to Austin Kearns as part of a four-run frame. The Indians first run came via a one-out RBI single from Shin-Soo Choo, who scored Asdrubal Cabrera. Simon recorded the first out of the inning before Cabrera singled and Mark Grudzielanek walked. Following Kearns’ homer, Simon was replaced by sidearmer Cla Meredith who yielded four runs.

Trembley was questioned by the media about Simon’s pitch selection (a splitter that hung) and his decision to leave in Simon. Here’s his response…

(on the splitter to Kearns being the smartest option)

“Publicly I would never say yes or no. I don’t think that’s the way to go, to come out publicly and give an answer one way or the other. I don’t think that’s the way to do it. That’s why I have a pitching coach and I’m the manager and we’ll talk to Simon about that.”

(on leaving in Simon after he gave up a one-out single and walk)

“For me right there, he’s the best guy for that situation, facing Kearns. He got himself in trouble, you get yourself out of it. I think you go power against power. It’s worked. He made a bad pitch.”

***With the Orioles decision to option back Rhyne Hughes to Norfolk, if the team makes a move within the organization you would think it would be to call up an arm. There’s no one hitting in the Minors to justify a trip to the big leagues, making Alberto Castillo or Kam Mickolio both options.

The Bruins just lost a 3-0 series lead and a 3-0 Game 7 lead to the Flyers, so I’m drowning my sorrows in a blog post on something non-hockey related. Alfredo Simon.

Orioles manager Dave Trembley has a soft spot for underdogs and is a big fan of Simon, who underwent Tommy John surgery last May and has served as the Orioles de facto closer, picking up five saves with Mike Gonzalez and Jim Johnson both on the disabled list.

“I would evaluate [Simon] as a guy that is an underdog who has overachieved who has proven a lot of people wrong, who has come back from a terrible injury in a record amount of time, who is as appreciative of a get-out for a second chance, ” Trembley said. “[Simon is a guy] who will do anything to pitch in the big leagues, who gives us a presence in that role physically and mentally.

“He’s not afraid. He likes what he’s doing. He has fun with it. I know he keeps you on the edge of your seat sometimes. Some of the clubs test him. They wait him out and make him throw a lot of pitches, but he’s gotten the job done against some very, very good teams. And for a guy who’s never closed before, he’s been pretty darn good,” Trembley added. “But there’s a long way to go. There will be some slipups along the way by him, by me, by all of us, but it won’t change my opinion of him right now.”

“I’m just amazed by the fact that he’s been so resilient in a role that he’s never done. It’s not only different physically, but it’s different mentally.”

I’ve gotten a bunch of questions about what happens when Gonzalez comes back. Does he take the closer role from Simon? It’s tough to say, and Trembley hasn’t really given a definitive answer. I would think they would bring back Gonzalez in more of a setup role until he proves to be back on track. You can’t mess with what works and right now Simon is getting the job done. And he’s giving Orioles fans a mini-panic attack in the process. But you can’t argue with results.

Koji Uehara appeared in his first rehab outing for Double-A Bowie tonight, tossing 11 of his 15 pitches for strikes. He appeared in one inning against Erie, allowing a hit and picking up a strikeout. He will also throw on Thursday with no specific plans beyond that.

Closer Mike Gonzalez continues to rehab in Sarasota and has been working on strengthening the area around his left shoulder. He said if he stays on track, he will pick up a ball and begin a throwing program on Monday.

Also, a few people asked about the decision to remove Wilfrido Perez from the 40-man roster, a move that cleared a spot for Alfredo Simon to join the Orioles bullpen. President of baseball operations Andy MacPhail said the organization was hopeful Perez would clear waivers, since another team would have to put Perez on their 40-man roster if they claimed him. However, they felt Pedro Viola -who they claimed off waivers from Cincinnati – had slightly more upside. The 25-year-old Perez was 0-1 with three saves and a 10.80 ERA, including five walks and five strikeouts, in five games with Double-A Bowie.

A few more notes from Saturday’s pregame session with
manager Dave Trembley:

*Brian Matusz will pitch in a Minor League game on Monday,
with Alfredo Simon taking his spot against the Yankees. No real surprise here,
since the Orioles have tried to avoid running their starters out against
divisional foes. Kevin Millwoodkicked off the Minors starts on Saturday and
the reasoning behind Jeremy Guthrie still throwing against the Blue Jays Sunday
is that he’s been in the AL East for a while now, so trying to “hide” Guthrie
isn’t really an option at this point.

*Trembley downplayed how important this start is Saturday for David
Hernandez. While I blogged yesterday about the 5th rotation spot
basically being Tillman’s, a strong showing by Hernandez against Boston’s regulars
would add some intrigue to the race. Especially given Tillman’s subpar outing
on Friday night, which included four walks.

*The backup catch job won’t be just handed to Chad Moeller.

“You’ll see [Craig] Tatum get a start, you’ll see Moeller
get a start,” Trembley said. “You’ll see
that competition going down to the end, I believe.”

The Orioles like Tatum’s throwing arm, but Moeller carries
experience having been in the league -and particularly the AL East – for a
while. His locker is right next to Matt Wieters, which Andy MacPhail told me
earlier this spring is no coincidence. Much like Millwood, Moeller is expected
to help mentor and bring along the O’s promising young talent.

In all seriousness, Reimold does appear to be running better
and Trembley said he talked to Nolan and told him he has to start showing that
he can run do certain things, such as play back-to-back games, steal a base,
etc. While he’s still not 100 percent, the Orioles can’t afford to baby him -and
essentially squander a roster spot – once the season starts.

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